The Dropped Letters are the Answer #17 Quiz

Answer: S

Beast less Beat = S

Beat can also mean a stroke or blow; in sailing it can mean the act of beating to windward, sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing; in music, the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music.

Answer: C

Scale less Sale = C

Sale is also a town in the State of Victoria, Australia (the country of the quiz author's birth).

Answer: H

Shoot less Soot = H

Soot, of course, is something that resides in chimneys. In television and movie land, it only ever breaks loose when some poor unfortunate type sticks their head inside the chimney and looks upward!

Answer: N

Flint less Flit = N

To flit: move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart. Or, as a noun: a secret move (to avoid paying debts); a sudden quick movement.

Answer: I

Pliant less Plant = I. Not only do plants produce oxygen to sustain life for those of us who enjoy breathing, they do it in part by absorbing our waste product (carbon dioxide). That's a pretty handy design, a win-win for all of us. You can also plant something (as in place it in the ground) - ironically, this is often a plant! A plant can also describe a factory.

Answer: T

Covet less Cove = T. A cove is old-fashioned British or Australian slang meaning a fellow or chap. I include this here as my father was both (born in England, moved to Australia) and used to use the term all the time: "Look at these old coves", he would say as we drove past. Of course, a cove could also be a small sheltered bay.

Answer: Z

Braze less Brae = Z. A brae is a Scottish term meaning a steep bank or hillside. Not to be confused with bray, the noise that a donkey or mule makes.

Answer: E

Stripe less Strip = E. Strip has a number of meanings, the more common of which are removing coverings (from a bed) or removing clothing (from yourself!). You can also strip paint or a tree or dismantle machinery. A plane can land on an (air)strip, or the word can be used to describe the clothing worn by a sporting team.

Answer: L

Bowler less Bower = L. The male bowerbird builds structures out of sticks, then adorns it with small bright objects, in an effort to attract a mate. These objects are usually "appropriated" from nearby rubbish (bottle tops, pens, wrappers etc) or people's personal belongings. Rings left on tables near windows have been known to befall this fate.

There are many types of bowerbird, each with their own colour proclivities. This author has only seen the Satin and Regent bowerbirds (blue and gold items, respectively) and their bowers, they really are a work of art. Whether their prospective mates think so is another matter...

Answer: Schnitzel

A schnitzel is a thin slice of meat, usually made that way by pounding it. It is often then covered in bread crumbs and fried. Schnitzel is derived from the German word for slice (sniz). It is a worldwide food, though known by different names and made with different types of meat, commonly being veal, pork, chicken, mutton, beef, or turkey.